Providence Mayor Brett Smiley isn’t smiling much these days. Instead, he is demanding a mural of Iryna Zarutska be removed from The Dark Lady nightclub. The mural was partially paid for by Elon Musk.
Iryna is the beautiful young woman who was murdered by a black career criminal who wanted to kill that white girl.
Smiley said it must be removed as soon as possible. The decision was influenced by the backlash and the mayor’s statement that the mural was “divisive” and did not represent the city’s values. The mural, which honored Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who was murdered, sparked a debate about the role of public art and the impact of political funding on such memorials.
Artist Ian Gaudreau, who began the work last week, told the news outlet that he never intended for the tribute to be political.
Upon learning of a project to memorialize Zarutska, Musk said he would donate $1 million in a September 2025 post on X.
Is it that the mural is divisive or is it his fear people will know how bad a job these mayors do in big cities?
We can trash white people all day long, but black, racist murderers are sacrosanct.
He said he supports art that unites us.
This is the mayor who demanded this mural come down. https://t.co/fspZQOG1Kv pic.twitter.com/mmvZSQo70C
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) March 31, 2026